The Lost Year
by kalishamalfoy
Summary: After a trifle between the trio, Hermione is forced to choose between her heart and her mind.
1. Chapter 1

Harry strode down the marble corridors quickly, wiping his face with the back of his black robe sleeve. Catching a glimpse of himself in the reflection of a passing window, he noticed the blood had reached further across his face than he'd previously imagined. Wiping it off furiously, he stood at the familiar brown door. It was taller than he, and twice as wide, made of wood and black metal etchings. The etchings were a particular pattern, engraved deep into the wood of the door. Harry noticed this as he stood in front of it, hesitantly making sure he looked as normal as possible. He pushed open the creaky door cautiously, trying not to make a sound. Unsuccessful, he sighed and walked silently to his assigned seat, the Professor facing the chalkboard. He slid into his chair next to Hermione, who seemed to not notice his tardiness as she focused all of her attention onto a textbook. The rest of the class, however, seemed more than remotely disturbed, all gawking rudely at Harry, some sniggering quietly.  
>"Mr. Potter," muttered Professor Snape, his back still facing the students, "How nice of you to join us."<br>"Sorry Professor, I-"  
>"I don't want to hear it. You can save your sorry excuses for detention," snarled Snape as he turned to face the boy. He paused in between words, his voice dripping with pure hatred for Potter. Snape turned back to face the board again, murmuring expletives under his breath.<br>Hermione looked up cautiously from her Potions textbook, checking for signs of movement from the Professor. She turned to Harry, who seemed to be focused on something distant, the unusual emotion in his eyes protected by the silver rims of his glasses.  
>"Harry," she whispered, "What on Earth happened to you?" She cast her eyes on his robes, torn and bloodied. There was a crack in the lens of his glasses and his cheeks were stained with mud and tears. Harry ignored her, trying to save himself from the signature Granger interrogation.<br>"For goodness sakes, Harry! Is that blood?" she muttered lowly.  
>"You look like you've been crying, what's wrong, Harry? What happened?"<br>"Harry, if he hurt you again, I swear I'll-"  
>"Just shut it Hermione, I'm FINE," shouted Harry suddenly. Hermione was taken aback, both surprised and offended by his abrupt reaction.<br>"Potter," boomed Snape from the front of the class. His voice sounded lively; The creases beneath his eyes proving otherwise, "Save your personal conversations for your spare time. Stop interrupting my class. You as well, Ms. Granger." His eyes narrowed as he looked upon the Griffyndor girl.  
>"Fine," she muttered angrily back at Harry, in short clipped tones, "I was just trying to help but since you are obviously incapable of basic human communication.." Their conversation was suddenly cut short by the final bell of the day. As all the other students stood to leave, Hermione was already out the door and Harry was left in her tracks.<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

"Ron, I've got to talk to you," sighed Hermione as she approached the ginger, who was cuddled up to Lavender Brown on a couch in the Gryffindor common room. The room was fairly empty; Most of the students were attending the Ravenclaw vs. Hufflepuff quidditch game.  
>"Not right now," hissed Ron spitefully. Lavender giggled quietly, not seeming to pay attention to anything other than her boyfriend's neck. "Can't you see I have company?" The look of disgust in his eyes scared her. Ever since he and Lavender had started dating, Hermione had noticed a clear change in Ron's behaviour. He had become withdrawn from anything that didn't involve his girlfriend, and only spoke of her when with the trio. It didn't help that prior to his newfound love for Brown, Ron had constantly abused Hermione's trust, interrogating her daily about her friendship with Harry. But that is all it ever was, Hermione would sigh. A friendship. Hermione and Harry had consequently grown tired of it, eventually drifting away from him and gathering in the library. Hermione would sit at a table and study, whilst Harry would watch tiresomely, thinking of things that had always been a mystery to her.<br>Hermione looked at Lavender, rolling her eyes. "It's about Harry," she jeered, folding her arms across her chest. She noticed a flash of concern in Ron's eyes as he untangled himself from his companion. "Where are you going, Won-Won?" asked Lavender cautiously, looking at her competition as she spoke.  
>"Relax," smirked Ron as he stood, "Nowhere with this nightmare."<br>Hermione felt her heart burn, her eyes welling with tears as she turned from the couple, expecting Ron to follow. She wanted to hit him, pull Lavender's hair and cry at the same time. But she just walked. They both walked in uncomfortable silence until they reached the courtyard. Hermione could hear Ron's footsteps behind her, heavy and angry. They had once been sources of comfort, of protection. Now they were something to be feared. She closed her eyes briefly, then turned to face him. He had stopped a few metres back, his arms folded. Hermione, who had already done the same, felt uncomfortable with the similiarity and dropped her stance, with one arm resting on the side and another holding it from across her body. They were a fair distance apart and only looked at each other. Hermione was finally able to observe the boy. Unlike her, he wasn't in his Griffyndor robes, but instead wore an oversized brown jacket, no doubt rejected by one of his older brothers, dirty blue jeans and chunky boots. The intensity of his gaze made her lose focus and she looked to the ground anxiously, sure of his hate for her.  
>"So," sneered Ron after moments of silence, "What did you want? This better be about Harry." Initially, Harry was their only mutual ground, their only reason for communication. When Harry and Hermione had lost Ron to Lavender, they had lost their link. Their missing piece. Hermione shifted awkwardly.<br>"Bloody hell, Hermione," he hissed, "Make it quick. If you didn't notice, I actually have things to do." "Unlike some," he added quietly. Hermione felt the anger growing inside of her, barely able to contain her emotions. He sighed and started to turn to walk away, when Hermione said, "Fine."  
>He turned back around impatiently.<br>"It's Harry," she shouted, only able to look at the concrete below as she spoke. She made sure to speak very quickly, getting all her thoughts out whilst she had the chance, and Ron's attention. "I'm afraid that Malfoy has been taunting him again. I think it's quite serious. He arrived late to Defences class today with blood and what-not all over his face, and his robes were torn. I've become quite frightened of him. He's perpetually angry and difficult to comfort, and I'm not sure if I can deal with it alone anymore so.. Please."  
>She looked up at him, but his eyes were now making contact with the ground.<br>"I need your help," she sighed tediously, "Please. I cannot do this alone anymore." He finally looked up to her, a look of sympathy in his eyes. She was winning.  
>"Please." Hermione looked at him pleadingly, and Ron noticed the creases and lines on her forehead and under her eyes. That face, all too familiar, told him everything he needed to know. He knew her well enough to know that this was serious, that this was keeping her awake at night. He knew that this was her last resort. He knew that she had been forced to put aside her pride to do this. So he sighed, scratching his head and muttered a simple, "Sure." He saw a familiar look of relief upon her face, as she sighed tiredly.<br>"Thank you, Ronald," she said, smiling slightly. She closed her eyes momentarily. "Please, just.. Try to talk to him. I'll try talking to Draco, see what I can get out of him." Ron nodded solmenly in acknowledgement.  
>Hermione sighed, her voice becoming distant even to herself. "I knew I could count on you. Thank you." She smoothed her hands over her eyes and across her face.<br>"Don't mention it," she heard him say quietly. But as she opened her eyes, he had disappeared. 


End file.
